Candidates focusing on budget
| • | Map: Honolulu City Council District 6 |
By Treena Shapiro
Advertiser Staff Writer
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Lately, "the intensity of the city issues is greater than what I've been receiving on the state level," said Tam D-13th (Nu'uanu, Downtown, Sand Island), explaining why he decided to leave his seat to run for the City Council.
His opponent, longtime neighborhood board chairman John Steelquist, said running for City Council is an extension of his 16 years of voluntary community service on the Makiki Neighborhood Board, city vision teams, Central Union Church and the Rotary Club of East Honolulu.
Steelquist said he would draw on his experience as a small-business owner and business professor at Chaminade University to help the city develop a long-term budget, instead of continuing the practice of changing the budget every year.
• Address: 841 Pohukaina Street, Honolulu • Occupation: Professor of business, Chaminade University • Family: Married, two children • One big idea: "We need to seriously plan for the long-term budget and we need to seriously plan for the long-term fiscal health of the city of Honolulu. Our budget actions should be linked to long-term plans and we should persist to improve the quality of life in our great city and District 6, the heart of Honolulu." Rod Tam • Occupation: Full-time senator, part-time salesman, travel agent and business consultant • Family: Married, two children • One big idea: "My desire is to stabilize and stimulate the City and County of Honolulu's economy. No. 1, I would have an external financial audit. Then I'll look at it in terms of how to deal with the shortfalls of funding government. I would utilize not only city and state, but federal resources, and then I would establish economic goals and objectives with action plans."
"We should be doing long-range planning and sticking with it," he said.
Council District 6
• John Steelquist
• Address: 2751 C-2 Booth Road, Pauoa
Tam, a budget analyst, part-time salesman and travel agent, said he wants to have fiscal responsibility within the city. "I'd like to see an external audit of the city administration," he said. He would also push for providing online access to the city's fiscal records.
With 4,206 votes in the Sept. 11 primary, Steelquist finished well-behind Tam who received 7,020. But Steelquist is optimistic he can close the gap by the general election on Nov. 5.
"What I'm going against is inertia," he said, noting that voters in the district are used to casting ballots for Tam on the state level.
The newly reapportioned District 6 includes portions of Makiki, downtown Honolulu, Nu'uanu, Liliha, Kalihi Valley and portions of Kalihi, an area that comprises much of the district currently represented by Councilman Jon Yoshimura, who is vacating the seat because of term limits.
When the Senate districts were redrawn last year, Tam found himself in the same district as Sen. Suzanne Chun Oakland, also a Democrat, who is seeking reelection. He said he turned to city office instead because unlike the Senate, which is in session for only 60 days a year, "the city level is all year round," he said. "I can really help people."
Tam, who was ridiculed two years ago for introducing legislation that would allow state workers to take 15-minute naps and partake of snacks paid for by taxpayers, is still seeking a way to improve morale among public workers. "Morale is bad within the city," he said. "I found out management is not giving enough respect."
His answer is to encourage managers to show more appreciation for their employees. "You have to treat them like human beings, not slaves, not demeaning them," he explained.
Tam is also holding on to his idea to make Hawai'i an international center for business, which he and Gov. Ben Cayetano butted heads over in June. Cayetano clearly distanced himself from what he referred to as Tam's "poorly thought out" plan for an international center in Kaka'ako. Tam said that Hawai'i can capitalize on its blend of ethnic cultures to draw business people from China and Taiwan to Hawai'i. "It's a new way of bringing money into Hawai'i, rather than increasing taxes" he said.
Steelquist wants to continue to encourage high-tech businesses to come to Hawai'i and sees the city's role as making Honolulu an attractive destination by repairing roads and sewers and improving the quality of life.
"The city doesn't have any money to develop a high-tech park. The state should be doing that," he said. "But the city should look at small stuff that's within our budget."
Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.
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